How usefull is slatwall?

[Paul Saffold]

I have a chance to get about 12' of slatwall for free from a business that is closing it's doors. I'm wondering how useful it might be for garage/workshop. Will it support much weight? I've only seen it retail stores displaying lightweight items. If any of you have experience with it I'd appreciate any comments.

Thanks. Paul

[Robert Andrew]

I have used slatwall in my last two garage and basement workshops. Mounting method will have an impact on how much woeght it will hold. I screw straight though into studs.

The second question is what it is made of. I used the heavy duty plastic designed for heavier loads. If what you have access to is particle board with T slots routed into it be careful. The compormise product is if there are aluminum extrusions slipped into the slotted particle board.

All that being said, any of it should be strong enough for organizing hand tools over a work bench. On the other hand, I have an extra set of mounted car wheels hanging on the slatwall in my garage.

Feel free to PM me if you want to get into more detail.

Rob

[Paul Saffold]

Thanks Rob. This slatwall looks like white melamine over MDF or something similar. It was used in an optician's office and was used to display eyeglass frames.

[Jim O'Dell]

Paul, I have some that is similar to what you say you are looking at. Mine is MDF with a thin wood grain plastic laminate on it. Not what you want for heavy items, but I have drill bit sets, my Kreg K2000 kit, some jigs, etc hanging from mine and no problems. The problem I have found is getting hangers for it. I have gotten some from 2 stores that were closing. I had hoped to get some of the acrylic shelves so I could drill a hole big enough for the chuck of a drill to go into to store the corded drill, but haven't found any yet. You might see what you can get in the way of hangers while you are there. I got a pretty good sized bag of different styles from a Linens and Things store when they went out a few months back for 7 smackers. Jim.

[Ryan Baker]

Slatwall is great stuff, and it will hold a lot more weight than you would think if it is secured to the wall well. That said, I probably wouldn't use it in my shop just because the hangers are too expensive and difficult to find. I love it for hanging guitars though!

[Brian Effinger]

Jim & Ryan, I've found that ordinary peg board hangers work with slat wall as well.

[Ben Franz]

DUST .... all the little grooves, imperfect dust control (the reality in most shops) .... I'd pass. My $.02, YMMV.

[Jim O'Dell]

Brian, I got some regular ones from a Radio shack that was going out of business. Only difference is the 2 legs that go to the wall were plastic, and the metal "rod" fit into that piece. Just wouldn't handle any weight. I had about 4 pieces of trim on them, 8' long, and about 5 of the hangers spaced out. Three broke and it came crashing down on me. I'm hoping I can find some "Z" channel and make my own shelves eventually. Just haven't seen the right stuff yet. I might try some of the all metal ones. Jim.

[Paul Saffold]

Thanks for all of your comments. Since there are no hangers at less than retail, and that it probably won't hold much weight I'm going to pass on the free offer. The clincher is Ben's comment about the dust. I'd never have thought of that and wouldn't be too happy to discover it after installing it. I hope to build upper cabinets with glass / Plexiglas doors to store planes, chisels, etc. to help keep them reasonably dust free.

Paul